Ethics and Ecology

Module Description:

The module begins with a study of the text from the Durban Climate Change Convention December 2011. Later updating statements from the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change are studied. The literature which challenges the findings of this body will be introduced.

In this context, a Christian perspective is sought from a study of Scriptures and later Christian sources. It will be argued that these sources bear rich themes that are implicitly earth affirming: the incarnation, Eucharistic liturgies (especially Easter liturgies), and the hope, so eloquently expressed in the Epistle to the Romans, that the future will bring on a cosmic scale the redemption that has already arrived in Christ.

On the other hand, the ‘have dominion over the earth’ texts of Genesis and its echoes in Psalm 8 are studied as well as the otherworldly or even anti-worldly orientations of some New Testament texts and many later Christian sources. Recent papal and episcopal statements will be studied and evaluated, and their reception in various cultural contexts. Contemporary discussion on population growth, the call for sustainable growth and the specific needs of the developing world will be among topics studied in an ethical perspective.

Indicative Bibliography:

Boff, L., Cry of the Earth, Cry of the Poor (Maryknoll, New York: Orbis Books, 1997).
Norman, H., The Land is Mine: Six Biblical Agrarian Land Ideologies (OBT; Philadelphilia: Fortress Press, 1995).
Hessel, D., and Radford, R., Christianity and Ecology (Harvard: Harvard University Press, 2000).
Johnson, E., Women, Earth and Creator Spirit (Mahwah, N.J.: Paulist Press, 1993).
Mackey, J., Christianity and Creation (New York: Continuum, 2006).
Moltmann, J., God in Creation (London: SCM, 1984).

Learning Outcomes:

On successful completion of this module students should be able to:

• Distinguish the notion of dominion from the notion of stewardship in the foundational texts of Genesis.
• Evaluate the contributions of pontifical and episcopal statements on climate change.
• Compare and contrast this with the information and recommendations being promulgated by the International Committee for Climate Change.
• Assess the contemporary discussions on population growth in the context of finite resources, and in particular on the availability and distribution of food supply.

Methods of Assessment and Student Workload:

Continually assessed.